The kitchen is the hub of the home; it is the place where everyone comes together to eat, relax and share stories from their day.
If you are lucky enough to have a large enough kitchen to fit your entire family into, it is important that you don’t waste the space.
Whilst gourmet style kitchens can have family-friendly features added in, many families find it more useful to create a space that is more focused on their needs. This means accommodating children who may want to make their own after school snack or do their homework in the kitchen. As well as being able to accommodate a parent who is preparing a meal whilst having coffee with a friend or trying to keep the room tidy.
Think about what you want to get out of your kitchen space. Do you need somewhere to eat dinner as a family, host coffee with the girls or spend time with the children after school?
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To help you create the perfect kitchen for your family’s needs. We have put together a list of design tips and ideas to transform your kitchen into a multi-functional family space.
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Bring two rooms together
If your children are always in and out of the kitchen, think about how you can turn it into a space that is used for more than just cooking and eating.
Ideally, you want to create a space that is multi-functional and can be used on a regular basis by the whole family. You want to design a space that can be used for everything from cooking and chatting to meeting with friends and doing homework.
Think about how you can turn your kitchen into somewhere the whole family will feel comfortable spending time in. If you struggle to come up with plausible design ideas, it might be a good idea to do some research. For some unique ideas, have a look online at property design sites like https://www.affleckservices.co.uk/. By getting ideas and inspiration online, you will be able to get some inspiration and get an idea of what would work well in your home.
If you have enough space, consider sectioning off an area with a large rug and placing sofas and a coffee table on it. Sectioning off an area of the room is an excellent way to create a living room area within your kitchen.
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Be organised
No one wants to spend time in a messy environment, so make sure to think about ways you can keep your family-friendly kitchen tidy.
If your whole family are spending a lot of time in the kitchen, there is bound to be some mess. However, by investing in good storage solutions, you can keep the kitchen free of clutter and mess free.
If you have a large enough space, think about investing in a moveable island for your kitchen. Not only is an island excellent for storing all those annoying bits and bobs, but it can also be used as a breakfast bar or a place to do homework.
With a hectic family lifestyle, your kitchen is never going to stay in perfect order. With so many people coming in and out, things are going to get messy. The best way to deal with this, is to have enough storage space and to appreciate the space for what it is – a family environment.
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Think about the little things
It is often the little things that make a room into more of a fun and exciting place to spend time in.
Sit down as a family and come up with ideas for features you would like in the kitchen, such as adding in a large blackboard. Having a blackboard in the kitchen adds a little bit of fun to the room. For smaller family members, a blackboard is the perfect place to draw on. Whilst for older family members a blackboard is perfect for writing down reminders, ideas and even inspirational quotes.
If you have the room for it, having a large bookshelf in your kitchen can also be a nice touch. Not only is it great for storing all your cookbooks on, but it can also be used for other books too – making the kitchen feel much more homey.
To create a space where the whole family will want to spend time, consider adding a little bit of colour to the room. Nothing too bright or bold, just think about adding in some subtle colours to make the space more fun and interesting to spend time in.
To add some colour to the room choose two features to paint or spray and leave the rest of the room in a neutral colour. For example, you could re-design the room so that the cabinets and worktops are white or cream coloured and then island and cooker are a bolder colour. Dark colours like navy blue or maroon could both work well and would create an excellent focal point in the room.
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Buy child size furniture
If you have a young family, it might be a good idea to consider investing in some child sized pieces of furniture. Avoid plastic pieces of child-sized furniture, they don’t look very nice and don’t last for long. Instead, go for wooden furniture that is long lasting and matches the style of your kitchen.
Kids love being able to help in the kitchen and by buying them their own pieces of furniture you are allowing them to help you and get stuck in. A baking table that has two different sizes work surfaces is perfect for kids who love to cook with mummy or daddy.
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Choose your surfaces carefully
With children about it is a good idea to choose surfaces that are easy to clean and stain resistant.
Quartz or laminate surface are both good options for family-friendly kitchens. Not only are they stain-resistant and easy to clean, they also won’t smash if a glass is left at a precarious angle and drops onto them.
To create the perfect family-friendly kitchen, all you need to do, is create a multi-functional space that meets the needs of your family. As well as creating a space that is comfortable, efficient and fun to spend time in.
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